By Bryan Alvarez |
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| @bryanalvarez

We'll be doing polls this weekend on tonight's (tomorrow morning) New Japan New Japan Cup show from Korakuen Hall in Tokyo and tomorrow's UFC 171 from Dallas, so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to
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We're looking for reports on tonight's final day of TNA TV tapings in Orlando with shows taped for parts of 3/27 and 4/3), as well as WWE's Team Cena crew in Austin, TX and the Team Bryan crew (Daniel Bryan, Christian, Wyatt Family, The Shield) in Laredo.

UFC on Saturday from the American Airlines Arena in Dallas\

Fight Pass fights at 6 p.m. Eastern

Daniel Pineda vs. Robert Whiteford

Bubba McDaniel vs. Sean Strickland

Will Campuzano vs. Justin Scoggins

Renee Forte vs Frank Trevino

Prelims on FS 2 at 8 p.m.

Alex Garcia vs. Sean Spencer

Dennis Bermudez vs. Jimy Hettes

Jessica Andrade vs. Raquel Pennington

Kelvin Gastelum vs. Rick Story

PPV at 10 p.m.

Nikita Krylov vs. Ovince St. Preux

Hector Lombard vs. Jake Shields

Diego Sanchez vs. Myles Jury

Carlos Condit vs. Tyron Woodley

Johny Hendricks vs Robbie Lawler for welterweight title

Sunday has WWE Team Cena in Dallas, so there is a UFC on Saturday night and a WWE late Sunday afternoon in the same arena, and Team Bryan is in Corpus Christi.

Raw on Monday is in San Antonio, with Undertaker scheduled for the show.

Smackdown is Tuesday in Houston with both John Cena and Undertaker booked for the show.

The new issue of the Wrestling Observer is up on the site today with a WrestleMania update, a story on one of the more heinous crimes in pro wrestling history with the conviction of Buck Zumhofe of a number a sex charges, as well as an update on TNA coming off the Lockdown PPV, UFC's new phase of international expansion and New Japan's anniversary show, as well as lots of WWE info on who is planned on being pushed going forward.

Our lead story looks at Daniel Bryan being moved into the WWE title match, how it went down, why it went down, as well as thoughts on what hasn't been announced yet, who looks to be in the Battle Royal and what names aren't yet accounted for on the show.

We have a feature on the conviction of former AWA star Buck Zumhofe on sex charges, including notes on the charges, who he was in wrestling, the nature of the victim, what witnesses saw, his entree into wrestling and his career.

We also look at TNA's return to live PPV after several months, problems with the key storylines, where TNA could have made PPV still work and why it's difficult now, a look at the storylines, surprises, business and match-by-match coverage with star ratings.

We also look at UFC's most recent show in London at the O2 Arena, how this is the first show in a new approach overseas, business notes on the show and full coverage.

We also have more on WWE negotiations for television, more on marketing the WWE Network, response to polls on how well the network is doing, a new WWE TV deal inked, lots of Hall of Fame news including a look at Carlos Colon, SummerSlam ticket sales, merchandise draws, upcoming Raw main events and why John Layfield ripped on Jim Ross on Raw last week.

We also look at who was in the most PPV matches, WWE executives stock, how the different WWE characters are talked about after recent big shows, a look at Total Divas, a WWE star preparing for life after wrestling by starting a new company, a new signing, as well as business notes from all the weekend shows as well as in-ring highlights.

We also look at the New Japan anniversary show, including videos, the ceremony, notes on the Okada vs. Ibushi main event and what it showed about both men, as well as match-by-match coverage with star ratings.

We also look at Pro Wrestling NOAH's biggest show so far this year.

We've also got a feature on Jerry Kozak, who passed away last week, a Texas fixture in the 60s and 70s who was also a promoter. We look at his career in wrestling, the Kozak Brothers, and the famous rib story he was most famous for, as well as his role in one of the most important wrestling tours in history.

The Wrestling Observer ranges weekly from 35,000 to 50,000 words covering pro wrestling and MMA internationally. Each issue has coverage and analysis of all the major news, plus every issue breaks major news stories before the Internet sties and has the most complete look at the pro wrestling and MMA business anywhere, plus history pieces available nowhere else.

The Observer is now in its 31st year of being the leading insider pro wrestling publication in the world. The biggest and most influential names in the pro wrestling and MMA industry, from bookers to promoters to Hall of Fame wrestlers and fighters to the biggest names on camera and behind the scenes, along with thousands of readers in all 50 states and more than 30 countries subscribe. Many have subscribed for 20 years or longer consecutively. They get the most detailed and inside coverage of what is going on all over the world. Everywhere from Wall Street to the major offices to television networks in the U.S. and Japan turn to the Observer for what is going on in the business.

If you are a new subscriber ordering 24 or more issues, you can get one free classic issue of your choice sent to you today. With a 40 issue subscription, you can get two free classic issues sent to you today. Just sent your Visa or Master Card order with your name, address, phone number, card number and expiration date to
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You can also order by paypal by sending to www.paypal.com and directing the funds to
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You can also subscribe via check, cash or money order, as well as credit card by mail, by sending to Wrestling Observer Newsletter, P.O. ox 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228.

We also have a look at the ratings of all the major television shows over the past week and results from all the major arena events.

Also in this week's issue:

--Popularity of wrestling in Mexico

--How the decline in Mexico differs from the decline in Japan

--Strange booking announcements

--The Mexican national incredible partners tag team tournament

--The last AAA original is no longer with the company

--A look at AAA TV plans after Rey de Reyes

--First foreigner vs. foreigner Open the Dream Gate title match main event

--Notes on the next Dragon Gate big show

--Promoter makes promise in national magazine that an April big show will air live on national TV

--A look at Pro Wrestling NOAH's upcoming tag team tournament

--New Japan vs. NOAH program's next step

--Major U.S. star may be less than one month from starting with New Japan. A look at the clues

--A look at the next few New Japan iPPV shows

--New Japan adds another overseas tour

--Hall of Famer's 60th birthday special show

--Feature movie coming up on overseas star

--A look at the death of Eikatsu Yoshida, the father of the greatest woman freestyle wrestler who ever lived and why it's made national attention in Japan

--A look at 16 Carat Gold tournament in Germany with a number of different major indie group champions and complete lineup

--Update on independent shows over WrestleMania weekend

--More on Stacy Keibler's wedding

--Wrestling personalities having success on iTunes

--Notes on new wrestling books

--Update on Buff Bagwell

--Where the most Hall of Famers have come from

--Gulf Coast wrestling reunion

--Notes on the wrestlers up for Cauliflower Alley Awards this year

--Where are they now on a short-lived WWE performer who now has a very unique profession

--Major news involving Sinclair Broadcasting and their TV empire

--Updates on the ROH shows with New Japan

--Value of Japanese in ROH

--A look at the weekend ROH title change

--ROH star buries hatchet with WWE stars

--A.J. Styles upcoming ROH schedule

--A look at all the details of the weekend ROH shows

--Jeff Jarrett teases his big announcement and what former name in production is with him

--Notes on TNA's upcoming TV tapings

--Davey Richards talks WWE and ROH

--Update on Thiago Silva after his arrest

--Notes on this upcoming wee's UFC show

--UFC's upcoming dates in Europe for the next year

--Update on Conor McGregor

--UFC running two shows in different parts of the world on the same day

--Chael Sonnen talks competing without TRT

--California commissioner talks TRT

--Notes on UFC Fight Pass

--Anderson Silva throwing kicks

--Next Fight Pass card

--UFC injury updates

--Lots of upcoming UFC events

--Notes on Bellator's first PPV show

--A rundown of Bellator's last show and next show

Rates are:

For the United States, it is $13 for 4 issues, $32 for 12, $61 for 24, $101 for 40 and $131 for 52. In Canada and Mexico, rates are $14.50 for 4, $35 for 12, $67 for 24, $111 for 40 and $144 or 52. In Europe, you can get the fastest delivery and best rates by sending to
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For the rest of the world, rates are $16.50 for 4, $44 for 12, $85 for 24, $141 for 40 issues and $183 for 52 .

If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order (P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228), you can get $1 off in every price range.

We now have available personally autographed copies of Tributes II, our latest book, as well as a DVD that comes with it talking more about the subjects in the book. The book covers the life stories of Lou Thesz, Wahoo McDaniel, Elizabeth, Fred Blassie, Road Warrior Hawk, Andre the Giant, Curt Hennig, Johnny Valentine, Davey Boy Smith, Terry Gordy, Owen Hart, Stu Hart, Gorilla Monsoon, The Sheik and Tim Woods..

To get all of those biographies as back issues of the Observer would be a $60 value today. This is a collection of some of the best Observer articles of the past several years in a hardcover, full-color format that is 239 pages. There is also a foreword by Bret Hart. The book price is $12.95 plus $3.50 for shipping costs in the U.S., $20 for shipping costs to Canada and $25 for shipping costs outside North America. You can order the book the same way you order the newsletter.

Today's News, Notes and Links

-- Dave and I will be back late tonight with our weekend show talking UFC 171, all the news in pro-wrestling and mixed martial arts and more! Tomorrow we'll have Wrestling Observer Live on Sports Byline USA/Sirius Satellite Radio/Internet at 3 PT/6 ET for two hours, and then at midnight PT the Bryan & Vinny Show returns with NXT, ROH, TOTAL DIVAS~!, and more.

-- After Dark was a replay last night of our show with Seth Shostak of SETI from several weeks back. We'll return with a new show this Friday night.

-- Dave has a good story on Johny Hendricks and how he developed his KO power here. His trainer claimed if Johny lifts heavy for two weeks he can add 10-15 pounds of muscle.

-- Shocked at the amount of feedback for my debate with Todd about the Occupy Raw segment, including this full article here. I think some people are greatly overthinking all of this.

-- Stephanie McMahon will be involved in a twitter chat with the "WWE Moms" group Wednesday at 7 PM. You can join @WWEMoms.

-- They've officially changed Tensai's name to JOHN ALBERT.

-- WWE is in the process of shooting various workout DVDs, mostly at the NXT facility.

-- The Carlos Colon WWE Hall of Fame induction video is up here. As noted in the new Figure Four Weekly, they've shot WWE Network footage with Los Matadores where they are unmasked, I guess because Primo and Epico are inducting their father and instead of confusing viewers by "bringing them back" after a long hiatus, they'll just confuse viewers by revealing that they are not, in fact, Mexican bullfighters. Or something.

-- Dana White talks CM Punk here. He says Punk is a cool guy and they've hung out a lot, but he's never talked to Punk about whether or not Punk would fight. He said if Punk was interested he'd at least discuss it. Please don't hold your breath waiting for this to happen.

-- WWE has a new Signature Sounds DVD out: "Music has been integral in WWE history, especially anthems for all the greatest WWE Superstars. Since Sgt. Slaughter first made his entrance to the Marine Corp hymn in the early 80's, music themes have become synonymous with the Superstars themselves. Just hearing the first few notes brings the crowd to their feet. They are the songs that let the WWE Universe know that business is about to pick up. Now, get behind the music and learn the inside story behind the timeless anthems of WWE and the superstars. The DVD features interviews with the man behind the music, Jim Johnston, who composes all WWE music, and 25 tracks." It's out this Tuesday.

ON THIS DAY IN PRO WRESTLING HISTORY (Thanks to Brian Hoops)

1905 - Tom Jenkins defeated Frank Gotch in New York City, New York towin the American Heavyweight Title

1987 - The Killer Bees defeated Demolition to win the Frank Tunney Sr.Memorial Tag Team Tournament and earn an immediate WWF Tag Team Titlematch. WWF Tag Team Champions The Hart Foundation (Bret Hart and JimNeidhart) defeated The Killer Bees to retain the title.

1987 - Mike Rotunda won the NWA Florida Heavyweight Title by defeatingEd Gantner in Daytona Beach, Florida. At the same event, The MOD Squad(Basher and Spike) defeated The Southern Boys (Steve Armstrong and TracySmothers) to win the NWA Florida Tag Team Title.